


Buzz Lightyear of Star Command ★ Star Chronicles ★ (Discontinued)

by Blackie0275 (xSweetSlayerx)



Category: Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (Cartoon)
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Gen, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-13
Updated: 2015-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:15:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25994326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xSweetSlayerx/pseuds/Blackie0275
Summary: Buzz Lightyear and his crew continue to keep the galaxy from falling into chaos, but when Zurg and his forces reemerge, they recruit a timid rookie with a troubled past and a cybernetic woman from another galaxy to aid them. Can the galaxy be kept out of Zurg's hands?~★~Unfortunately, this is another dropped project of mine and Glacia's. I never posted it because we never got past Chapter 3, chronologically. It's a huge bummer because we had so much planned for this, but this is from just before Glacia and I stopped RPing and parted ways. I'm dumping it here, since some fans have expressed interest in it, and I wanted to keep it with the others.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	1. Pilot

****

**Buzz Lightyear of Star Command**

★ **Star Chronicles** ★

**Star 1: Pilot**

It was what one could call an early afternoon in space, as Ranger Buzz Lightyear and his crew made their way to Star Command in their star cruiser, number 42, after being on a planet that had needed assistance getting rid of some pesky creatures from an unknown world. Buzz and Princess Mira Nova piloted the way back home, while Booster was doodling in a puzzle book and XR was reading a robot magazine.

“I don’t know, Buzz. Do you think it’s a good idea to bring these creatures back to Star Command?” Mira asked. “We have no clue what they are or where they even came from.”

“Well, if there’s one thing we know for sure, it’s that they have a taste for space ranger arm…” XR grumbled as he was screwing what was apparently a new arm on. “Geez, reading this magazine is like reading a Botkea manual…”

“It’ll be fine, Mira,” Buzz assured her. “We can take care of them there. There’s nothing that can’t be done on Star Command. We’ll get them processed, figure out what they are, and send them off to a nice zoo, somewhere.”

“Yeah, I think you just want a pet,” Mira smirked.

“OW!” XR cried as he was attempting to screw his arm on.

“What are you doing, XR?” Booster asked, concerned.

“I’m trying to reattach my arm according to this magazine. There are all these new trends on robot maintenance and how to put one’s self back together, properly.”

“I didn’t know robots diet,” Booster said.

“We don’t _diet_ ; we try to spiff ourselves up, so we’re the best functioning, best _looking_ bots we can be. Buuut, I might already be too good looking for these trends,” XR boasted, brushing away his magazine, causing his arm to fall off again.

“Oh, PUH-lease!” Mira smiled.

“You shouldn’t listen to those things, XR.” Buzz spoke in his dramatic tone. “Trends are the seed of evil, in the printing universe. They can often lead to more problems than solutions.”

“You should just wait until we get back to Star Command and let the LGMs fix you,” Mira said.

“Yeah, you’re right.” XR picked up his arm. “These fads are starting to be more than I can handle.”

“Back to the animals…” Mira began. “What are we gonna do with them on Star Command? I’m mean, we aren’t exactly a veterinary hospital.”

“I told you, Mira; it’ll be fine!” Buzz said, a little irritated. “It’s not like we can just dispose of them somewhere else without having any idea what they are.”

“True…”

“And it just occurred to me, that Star Command is getting it’s own technologic upgrade from a group of technicians, this week.” Buzz remembered. “I’ll bet there’s some new things the LGMs can do to check of the creatures back there.”

“I still think you just want a pet,” Mira smirked.

“Hey! Maybe one of the visiting technicians could help spiff you up, XR!” Booster mused to his metal companion. “I hear the technology they use is pretty advanced.”

“Hm, that might not be a bad idea,” XR replied.

“Let’s get docked and everything, first, guys,” Buzz said as they made their way into the space of Star Command. “…then you can do whatever you want.”

Within the minute, 42 had landed safely back into position, within the Launch Bay of Star Command.

“Alright, time to head over to the lab and get this arm back on!” XR said as he exited 42 and glided across the catwalk.

“I’ll come with you! “ Booster called before stopping himself. “Oh, if it’s okay, sir.”

“Go ahead. Mira and I will handle the cargo,” Buzz said.

“Alright!” Booster cheered and ran after XR.

Buzz and Mira made their way of the ship and brought their safely confined creatures off-board too and set them on the loading bay, until given further direction. A little paper work and data logging, and the crew was free to do as they please.

After all was said and done, Buzz and Mira made their way through the entrance of the science bay. Upon an examining table a rather pampered-looking XR was laying back on it.

"Hey Buzz, I'm gonna have to forget all you said back there about trending being bad for me," XR calmly spoke. "This pretty lady can fix me up aaaall she waaants…"

Not to far from XR's was a young Eleckit technician woman typing away at an adjacent control panel. She bore the trademark characteristics as one of the members of her species: white hair, pale skin, and a thin figure. Her simple, black and white science uniform was a dead giveaway too. She turned to Buzz and Mira and greeted them with very shiny blue eyes.

"Good afternoon, Ranger Lightyear, Ranger Nova. It's a pleasure to meet you," she warmly spoke.

Both Buzz and Mira looked at her with confusion. "Um…. hello to you too, miss…?" Mira questioned.

"I am Volta." She held out her arm outstretched to her right to display a line of black markings on the forearm of her jacket, presumably her name in her native language. "I'm here to assist Star Command into transitioning their new technology."

"Ah, yes." Buzz recognized her. "She one of the technicians from Electra-2. Although, it looks like you've been busy with someone else," he motioned to XR.

"It's so good to be the robot." XR smiled.

“Yes. I have heard much of Star Commands one robotic ranger, XR the experimental ranger. I am more than happy to assist with any repairs or upgrades he may need."

"I'm here too, y'know!" another robot rolled his way up to Volta. It was former ranger-turned-delinquent-now-photocopier XL.

"XL!" Volta chuckled. "You're not a ranger anymore! But I'm still happy to work with you!"

"Ya hear that, little bro?!" XL called up to XR on the table above. "I _work_ with her!"

"Well, I am the one being operated on!" XR snapped.

XL made a disgruntled face at his sibling. "Well… I get to be worked with _every day!"_

XR glared. “Well, I get damaged on _duty_ everyday, on account that _some_ bad guys I know keeps drilling holes in me!"

"You don't bring up that. We all know that one particular robot who did that is long gone by now!"

"Knock it off, you two!" Buzz scolded. "I'm sure Volta has her hands full enough with fixing up Star Command. She doesn't need to get in between your little sibling rivalry."

"Right… Sorry, XL. Sorry, Volta. Sorry, Buzz." XR said sadly.

"Sorry, little bro," XL mumbled to him.

"That's another reason you robots annoy me so much!" came a gruff voice from beyond the crowd. It was the main man of the station, Commander Nebula, who stomped his way in on his peg leg.

"Dad!" the two robots cried gleefully.

"Stop calling me that!" Nebula barked.

"Love you, Dad!" XR hugged Nebula.

"STOP!" Nebula kicked XR onto XL, one robot catching the other.

"Ah, love taps!" XR smiled.

Nebula rolled his eyes and looked to Buzz, "Lightyear, you're back."

"It's good to be back, Commander. My team and I brought the new species of animals."

"New species, huh? Where'd ya put'em?"

"We have them in their cages, sir. We were about to send them to the LGMs, for tests to see if they are safe for a zoo." Buzz explained.

"Actually, that might not be able to happen. The LGMs are being given lectures on the new technology Star Command is running on buy Miss Volta's friends, right now." he looked to the eleckit beside him. "Besides, Star Command isn't a veterinary hospital. I don't think the LGMs have sufficient know-how to work with animals."

"I told you~." Mira murmured to Buzz.

Buzz only sighed.

"Perhaps I can help you with your animals, sir," came the even-toned voice of Volta.

"Really? You know about animals?" Buzz asked.

"Yes, my true profession is actually biology, Ranger Lightyear. It's only normal for an eleckit to be well-rounded in the knowledge of technology," she said as her eyes flickered. "I'm sure I can find some source of where your mysterious creatures came from."

Nebula turned from Volta to Buzz. “It’s settled. Volta, take a break from all the technologic hoo-ha and go do what you can with the animals on ship 42's loading dock. Buzz, I want you to get a ranger guarding those animals. Convicted felons are one thing, but I don't need any wild animals running around on my station."

"Yes sir, do you have some ranger in mind?"

"I don't know, get one of the rookies to do it. I'm sure one of them wouldn't mind taking a break from hauling wires today."

"Hey, hey. What about me?" XR called out to Volta.

"Don't worry, XR. You can have XL print me a sheet of the upgrades you need, and I'll help you out later." she hugged XR, causing him to smile and grip his fingers cheerfully. She then patted XL's head on her way out, causing him to do the same. "I'll head onto the loading bay, Commander Nebula."

"Keep up the good work, Volta," Nebula said as she passed him.

"Y'know Buzz, I was really skeptical about putting all of the new technology into Star Command…"

"That doesn't surprise me," Buzz muttered.

“…But you know what, she's actually starting to feel like she's brand spanking new, again."

"Yeah… we're gonna go find that rookie, sir," Buzz said behind his admiring boss.

"Oh uh, yeah, go do that." Nebula stuttered for a second.

★

Buzz and Mira went to look for a rookie who would agree to take the job. The duo went to the cafeteria and saw a lot of rookies eating, talking and such, only one of them was asleep though. Buzz and Mira had started asking some of the rookies to see if they can take the job but no one would accept for they had other assignments to do.

"Well this is fantastic, all the rookies are too busy to help out." Mira complained.

Then the two heard a soft snore, despite everyone else talking. Buzz and Mira saw a thin ranger with black shoulder length hair.

Buzz then looked at Mira with a smile. "We can always ask her."

"I don't know Buzz, she's asleep… "

"It'll be fine Mira, after all we do need her help."

Buzz started tapping the sleeping ranger. "Time to wake up, rookie…"

"Hn…" The ranger grunted.

Another rookie noticed that Buzz tried to wake up the sleepy ranger started to shout, "STARR, LOOK OUT! A BEAR IS GOING TO EAT YOU!!!!!!!"

The ranger's royal blue eyes shot open and leaped up to the ceiling. "OMG! OMG! OMG!" She shook with fright.

Buzz floated up to the ceiling and brought her back down. "Easy there rookie. There’s no bear on Star Command."

The rookie calmed herself down and sighed with relief.

"Thank goodness…"

"Are you okay?" Mira asked.

"Yeah, I’m okay. I just… thought that a bear managed to break into H.Q."

Some of the other rookies snickered at her from the tables around.

"One day…" the rookie shook her fist at the othes.

"We'll see about that," one called. "We'll just have to protect ourselves with some puppies!"

"NO FAIR! I ALWAYS WANTED A PUPPY, BUT I CAN'T!" Then the rookie left the cafeteria.

Mira and Buzz went after her, finding her near a window.

"I think we have the perfect ranger for the job," Buzz mused.

"You can't be serious," Mira answered.

"I am serious, Mira. No ranger should be that afraid of an animal. This might be a good lesson for her!” Buzz smiled. Besides, this rookie looks like she can handle her own on guard duty."

"Well… I don't see why not. Let's go get her."

So the two went over to the rookie. She sighed as she watched the stars.

"Attention!" she heard Buzz yell.

The rookie yelped then quickly stood at attention. "YES, SIR!"

"What's your name, rookie?"

"I am Ranger Noelle Starr, sir!"

"Ranger Starr, I have an assignment for you."

"Yes, sir?"

"Earlier, we brought on a cargo of several unidentified species of animal on board Star Command. We need someone to guard them."

Noelle felt nervous, but an order is an order no matter how scary.

"I'll… do it, sir."

"Ah, good! The animals are on loading bay 42." Buzz said with hint of brightness. "It won't be for long. Just until we can get them moved somewhere else."

"Will do, sir!" Noelle said then made her way to dock 42.

"Well, that was easy," Mira said.

"Of course! She's a ranger! She knows her job!" Buzz said proudly. "Now, let’s go eat before we have to figure out the new electrical system."

Buzz and Mira began walking down the hallway, back to the cafeteria.

"Hey Buzz, how long are the Eleckit going to be here?" Mira asked.

"I don't know. A week. Maybe a couple. I don't know how these equipment replacement things go. Why do you ask?"

"I don't know. I just got a weird feeling seeing that Volta lady and the couple others we saw on our way here. Don't you think they look… really thin? Almost sickly? And their eyes seem a little distant… if that's the right word."

"Ah, I know what you're thinking," Buzz answered. "It's like how you tangeans can be interpreted as humans only with blue skin right?"

"Um, yeah, but eleckit look more human like the both of our species. What makes them different?"

"It's the inside that makes them unique, Mira. I guess you could kind of call them cyborgs, but instead of have some cybernetic parts and some organic parts they're both in every cell of their body. Centuries of technology in the eleckit population have caused an interesting mutation to make them the way they are."

"That's really strange," Mira said, trying to process what Buzz had just told her. But I guess that kind of answers my questions. It's good to know that's it's normal for her to look that way. I was almost worried."

"Yes, there are many things in this galaxy that can take one by surprise and then call it strange. That's some of the beauty of this universe."

"If you say so."

★

Noelle finally arrived to the dock where the animals are. Her stomach quivered with fear as she slowly walked toward them.

"They're in the cage they can't hurt you…" she told herself.

"That has yet to be determined, actually," came a voice from behind her.

Noelle quickly turned around and saw a woman. It was Volta.

"But don't worry. I'm sure being a space ranger, you'll be perfectly fine!" she said slightly bowing her head with a cheerful smile, to Noelle.

Noelle rubbed the back of her neck and smiled. "Thank you. I'm here to guard the animals, are you here to study them or something?"

"Yes, I am! I'm Volta!” She extended her right arm to her side, as she did to Buzz and Mira. “I'm one of the technicians who are giving mandatory upgrades to Star Command's technology, but I've been asked to use my knowledge on biology to help with this situation too."

"Awesome! Shall we do the study here or in the science bay?" Noelle asked.

Volta giggled. "You sound as if you don't want to be near the animals."

"I… I’m scared of animals." Noelle admitted. "Oh yeah. How rude of me, I’m Noelle."

"You must be Ranger Noelle Starr, then. It's nice to meet you in person."

"Likewise, Miss Volta."

"So, shall we proceed?" Volta asked as she walked past Noelle, to the docking bay.

"Of course!" Noelle followed.

One of the animals growled making Noelle shake in her suit.

"May I ask why you're afraid of these animals?" Volta asked as she approached the creature before them.

"It's not just those animals… it’s all of them… I didn't want to fear them but… it was an unfortunate accident that happened when I was a kid…"

Noelle then stopped shaking.

"Liiiike…?" Volta had some sort of scanning mechanism. After pressing a couple of buttons a light came from the object to scan a portion of the creature. It beeped, and she moved away before the beast could swat at her.

Noelle kept an eye on the beasts as she reflected on her past. "I was at the zoo, everything was great and all until a kid fell in accidentally… I leapt in to rescue the child, much to everyone's dismay and… I distracted the animal… until… It got me…"

"Oh, I see. Sounds like the kind of thing a future ranger would do."

"Y-Yeah… that's what I kept telling myself, anyway."

"So, where are you from?" Noelle asked.

"I'm from Electra-2. It's a planet that's in another galaxy beyond this one."

"I never knew that!"

"Well, now you do! Did you always want to be a ranger?" Volta asked as she repetitively scanned and pressed buttons on her little gadget.

"I thought about it when I was in my preteens, but I eventually joined when I became thirteen," Noelle explained.

Volta paused. "When you were thirteen…? That's awfully young."

"I took the program that would educate me into becoming a ranger."

"Oh, you mean the Jr. Space Rangers?"

"Yep, that's the one!" Noelle smiled.

"Oh, that makes sense then," Volta resumed her work.

Noelle sighed with relief, but kept her eye on the animals. While they are caged she still didn’t let her guard down.

★

Meanwhile far away from Star Command a big purple ship was drifting as a certain evil emperor and his right-hand man were scheming.

"So, your mighty evilness, what do you want to do?" Warp Darkmatter asked sarcastically.

"Well, destroy Star Command, of course!" Evil Emperor Zurg snapped at him.

"I know that but how?"

"I have modified an old weapon of mine… Fortified to destroy Star Command and Buzz lightyear _and_ to bring us victory!" Zurg proclaimed, triumphantly.

Warp crossed his arms. "One of your old toys huh? This is _definitely_ going to be good!" he smirked.

"Oh, it'll be more than good, Warp Darkmatter…" came a deep but very metallic voice from within the shadows; a thin figure shrouded by them. "…It will be… delicious…!"

"No way…" Warp starred wide-eyed at the figure in shock, upon realizing who it was.

Zurg began cackling as loud as his evil laugh could be as the figure licked his lips from behind the veil of darkness.

★

Back at Star Command, Buzz, Mira, Booster, and a rejuvenated XR were walking in the hallways with Commander Nebula. They entered the doorway of the main control room of Star Command, Mission Control.

"I trust that the animal problem is taken care of?" Nebula asked.

"Being taken care of as we speak, Commander," Buzz said.

"Good! Now we can relax while the new technology is being set into place!"

"Is there anything else we can do?" Mira asked.

"Keep an eye out for trouble." Nebula ordered.

"That'll be easy, since we haven't had trouble here in awhile." XR whispered to Booster.

Suddenly the alarm went off

"Spoke too soon…" XR muttered.

"Okie dokie. So, what kind of trouble are we having today?" Mira walked to a computer monitor.

The little green men pressed some buttons to show the outside of Star Command.

"Sir, there's been a hull breach on area A-32!"

An LGM said as the screen showed a map of Star Command with a specific area flashing red.

"Lock down the emergency doors!" Nebula yelled.

"Already done!" an LGM replied.

"Did it stop it?" Booster asked out loud.

"What caused a hole to open up in the wall?" Mira asked. "A meteor?"

An LGM brought surveillance footage of the area up onto the monitor. The area was securely locked of with the two doors shut. It was competently vacant.

"No meteor," he said.

"No asteroid," said another.

"No anything," a third said.

"That's bizarre…" Mira said, quietly.

"Buzz, go investigate the area. See if whatever came in bounced into the other hallways," Nebula commanded.

"Yes, Commander. Mira, come with me," Buzz called to his friend as he sprinted away.

"Yeah, Buzz!" She ran after him.

★

Back on the loading bay 42, Noelle was becoming increasingly more anxious and uncomfortable around the animals. Volta was just wrapping up her work.

"Almost done…" she said under her breath.

"O-Okay…” Noelle shuddered.

"What peculiar animals they seem to be… They'll definitely need more observing, but if my data and calculations are correct, these animals seem to have diets that are high in iron and other metals."

"T-They eat metal? Amazing… I never thought there was a creature…"

"It is very peculiar, indeed… It could be that they have very acidic digestive systems… It would concur with the damage Ranger XR received. He claimed that one of them ate his previous right arm."

"Oh boy, poor XR…" Noelle sadly frowned.

The animals started to make noises that spooked Noelle.

"Oh no oh no oh no…"

"Now… Just one last creature." Volta looked up to a white monkey-like creature with big ears, and four amber eyes. "You seem rather different than the other creatures," she said as she stood up to the little thing.

The monkey-thing was in a cage they might have been a little too big for him, as he jumped away to the opposite side as soon as Volta came close to him.

"It's okay~. I won't hurt you," Volta calmly spoke as she let down the force field of the cage, allowing her to reach inside.

Suddenly, the creature sprung out and landed on Volta's head knocking her over.

"O-M-G!" Noelle shouted.

Noelle rushed in without a thought to stop the monkey.

"I'm okay!" Volta said as she rolled over and the creature hopped about a meter or two away from her and sat quietly.

"You sure?"

"Yeah." She stood up. "I think he just wanted out. I don't think he's dangerous."

The little thing just sat there staring at them, then took a moment to scratch behind of his ears with a hind leg.

Noelle looked at the monkey with caution. "I'll take your word on that."

"He is awfully cute, though. Don't you think?" Volta asked as she approached the little guy, again.

"Yeah… he does have a cute face!" Noelle said still feeling wary

The creature then made a quick jump up to Volta's shoulder. It just sat there calmly and let Volta can him with her device.

Just then, Buzz and Mira went pass the doorway.

Mira stopped by the doorway. "Hey ladies, uh… You didn't happen to see anything weird fly in, did you?"

Both shook their heads and the monkey-thing too.

"Thanks! Nothing here either, Buzz!" Mira called as she ran after him.

Noelle blinked. "Well, that was weird…"

"Hm, I hope nothing has gotten into Star Command… The security field hasn't been running at full power because of the transition." Volta began to giggle as the creature crawled to her other shoulder and back. "Yes, you are indeed friendly."

"I just hope it’s not a brain sucking creature that would make us drool." Noelle said, hilariously

"That's ridiculous. There's no advantageous biological trait that would imply something like brain-sucking," Volta said as the creature atop her moved around, happily.

★

Buzz and Mira arrived at the scene of the hole-incident. There was nothing between them and the emergency door.

"Blast, if there was something that smashed through the hull, it would have ended up on this side of the safety door." Buzz said, frustrated.

"There's nothing here," Mira complied.

Buzz opened up the communicator on his arm. "Mission Control, have you been able to decide if the debris is from outside or inside source?"

"It came from outside for sure, Buzz. There's nothing there?" Nebula asked.

"It's as empty in here as it is outside of the station, sir."

Suddenly, the lights in the hallway flickered.

"What was that?" Buzz could hear Booster say in the background audio of his communicator, along with the voices of several distressed LGMs with claims of their computers restarting or crashing.

"That doesn't sound good," Mira quietly said as she walked up to Buzz, looking around the hallway worried.

★

“W-What was that?!” Noelle asked when she saw the lights flicker in the large room.

Worriedly, Volta looked around. “I’m not sure… Maybe it was something one of my comrades were fixing…” She turned her head back to her device. She made a couple taps on the buttons. “That should do it.” Volta finished-up scanning the little animal on her shoulder and stuffed the scanning device in a pocket underneath her jacket. “Most of you are such peculiar creatures… Being able to eat raw metal. I wonder what your home planet is like.”

The little monkey creature smiled with his four little eyes fixated on her.

“I suppose I better get to the science bay. The LGMs will want this information as soon as possible!”

“Do you have to go?” asked Noelle. “Maybe you could hangout a little more?”

“You’re still not afraid of these creatures, are you?” Volta asked.

Noelle looked down a bit. "Y-Yeah…."

Of course, she couldn't help feeling scared. The whole accident at the zoo really stuck with her through the years.

"Well…" Volta looked down at the ground and pondered. "I need to go back so… Maybe I can find some one to keep you company."

Noelle felt a little better. "Of course, thank you."

"In the meantime, this little creature can watch you!" Volta placed the monkey-thing from her shoulder onto the floor. He stared at Noelle with his four orange eyes.

Noelle stared at the monkey with fear as she slowly backs to the wall. Her mind screamed at her on the 186 possibilities of getting beaten up by a four-eyed space monkey. "Someone help me…" She thought to herself.

"It was nice meeting you, Ranger Starr." Volta began to walk to the exit. "I hope I can-" She suddenly smacked right in to the wall. It wouldn't open, eve when she tapped her hands on it. "The door won't open."

"It won’t?" Noelle asked.

"No."

As soon as that door had been locked, all the other doors in Star Command either locked as well or immediately shut, trapping all the rangers within their respective rooms. Distressed rangers could be heard banging on the doors and yelling all throughout the station. As it would appear, a lock-down had been initiated, but it didn't appear that way to Volta.

Volta reached for the door’s keypad. After it didn't read any inputs, she opened it up. As soon as she touched it, it shocked her. "Ow!

Noelle quickly went around her, and she tried to open the keypad to inspect the circuitry.

"What the heck? They shorted out!"

"This can't be a lock-down. There were no alerts."

Noelle looked at her. "Maybe a malfunction…?”

"If it's the whole station… I highly doubt it." Volta knelt down before the door and extended one of her mechanical arms to begin prying the screws off of a panel on the floor.

“Ah, an escape to the lower levels! Good thinking, Volta!"

The panel was almost off, but one screw was refusing to come off. "Ugh, it's stuck… I can't get it." Volta struggled to remove the screw, but she only sheered it.

Abruptly, the little monkey thing hopped up to them. He began to nibble at the screw, and within a moment’s notice, he had eaten the panel free.

"G-Good boy!" Noelle nervously smiled.

Volta patted the creature's head and removed the panel. She crawled into the darkness beneath the floor, followed by the monkey-thing. "Come on, Ranger Star! We can access the hallway through here!"

Noelle crawled in after her. "Alrighty then!"

★

Back on at Mission Control, half of the LGMs seemed to be in a panic.

"Guys what's wrong?" Booster asked with a concerned tone.

"Loss of power!" one yelled.

"Fault in the system!" cried another.

"A virus!" whined a third.

The LGMs began chatter incoherently, losing their sense of mental unity in the panic. Then, Commander Nebula stood up to take charge.

"CALM DOWN!" he yelled and all the LGMs stopped in their tracks, in silence. "Will someone please explain what's going on in words we can understand?" he snapped at them.

"I believe _I_ can enlighten you on the situation at had, Commander…" came a metallic voice from above the crowd.

They all looked up to see what, or rather who, was above them. Expressions of shock crossed all of the rangers’ faces when they realized who it was.

"Mother of Venus…" Nebula said under his breath.

"There's no way this is happening…" Booster said.

"No." XR gasped. "No, this can't be…"

"Can so, little one!" called the owner of the voice; a robot that can only be best described as a vampire, with a sharp figure and bat wings made of orange glowing energy. He laughed evilly in his deep, robotic voice.

"NOS-4-A2!" Booster exclaimed the energy vampire's name.

"Ah ha! Yes, it is I! And I have returned to Star Command taking the liberty of sneaking on board and helping myself to this room's secondary power source. By the way…" NOS-4-A2 rose up his hands summoning a mass of cables and wiring from the consoles and floors. "Star Command's Mission Control is mine!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art used:  
> https://www.deviantart.com/xsweetslayerx/art/BLofSC-Star-Chronicles-Two-New-Characters-516102555


	2. Return of NOS-4-A2

****

**Buzz Lightyear of Star Command**

★ **Star Chronicles** ★

**Star 2: Return of NOS-4-A2**

A mysterious danger had struck Star Command. It came in the late afternoon as a minor hull breach, but with no debris was left behind. Rangers Lightyear and Nova went to investigate, but were still left with no answers. What had penetrated Star Command? The threat made its way through the halls, undetected, and soon came to stop at Mission Control. After a light energy drain on the room and rattling everyone’s nerves, the terrifying and formerly presumed dead creature made his presence known to the horrified rangers.

"NOS-4-A2!" Booster exclaimed the energy vampire's name.

"Ah ha! Yes, it is I! And I have returned to Star Command, taking the liberty of sneaking on board and helping myself to this room's secondary power source. By the way…" NOS-4-A2 rose up his hands summoning a mass of cables and wiring from the consoles and floors. "Star Command's Mission Control center is mine!"

The possessed wires quickly ensnared the LGMs but had a harder time claiming the still free rangers.

"And soon, I will complete what I was set out to do, so long ago; take full control of Start Command and decimate it!" NOS-4-A2 called, triumphantly.

"You… You're supposed to be dead!" XR yelled to him.

"We saw you get blown to smithereens!" Booster added as he swatted away wires.

"Ah yes, my untimely demise. If only, for you, I had blown to pieces on any other plant than Planet Z." NOS-4-A2 said smugly. "Zurg was generous enough to rebuild me and put me in his service, once again."

"Only so you could betray him again?" XR mockingly questioned.

"You underestimate the emperor, little one." NOS-4-A2 came down closer. "Zurg was clever enough to make my programming more specific. He made sure to program me for taking the galaxy solely for him and no one else, ensuring my loyalty."

"And you're okay with that?" Booster asked.

"Of course," NOS-4-A2 optimistically replied.

"I can't believe you can change a robot's mind just by reprogramming them…" Booster muttered.

"Haha, and don't worry. He also programmed me to be more efficient in my takeover." The mechanical monster flew over to the console of a computer as XR, Booster, and Nebula became trapped in the giant mass of wires. "Prepare yourself, Star Command…" he said before digging his sharp fingers into the monitor and drilling his fangs into it, causing another flicker of power throughout the station.

★

On the other side of the station Buzz and Mira were running back to Mission Control.

"Booster! XR! Any of you ok?" Buzz called on his communicator.

"Blast!" he shut off his communicator.

"I can't believe NOS-4-A2 is back!" Mira exclaimed.

"Yeah, but I bet he didn't count on me listening in on my communicator. We’ll, sneak-up on him when we get there."

It's good that rangers are trained to be hypervigilant, otherwise Buzz and Mira would have plowed into Noelle and Volta just around the corner. Before they could all smack into each other, the four crewmembers came to a sudden stop.

"Ranger Lightyear? Ranger Nova? The lights have been flickering in the station! Is something wrong?" Volta asked.

"Are we having a power problem?" Noelle asked too.

"You can say that…" Mira looked to Buzz.

"An old foe has returned to Star Command and is attempting to take over the system," Buzz said.

"Oh noooooo. A foe who specializes in electricity… Might as well get rubber suits." Noelle suggested.

"It'll take more than rubber suits to beat this guy," he said.

"Okay, so how do we stop him sir? Shall I be the distraction?" Noelle asked.

"Wait… Yes, we'll flank NOS-4-A2 from both sides! Ranger Starr you and-!" Buzz halted himself as soon as he saw the creature seated on Volta shoulder. "Um, what's that?"

"It's one of the creatures you brought onboard, sir," Volta answered.

"What's it doing out of it's cage?"

"Don't worry, sir. He's perfectly safe. He just has an appetite for metal," she said as she handed the guy a little screw to nibble on.

"Ohhhhh , XR is going to love this…" Mira said.

"Huh, kinda cute." Buzz resumed relaying his plan. "Ranger Starr, you and Volta take the long way through Star Command to get to Mission Control. We'll ambush NOS-4-A2 from both sides. Do you know what to expect?"

"Who is NOS-4-A2?" Volta asked.

"A robotic retelling of Dracula." Noelle explained.

"An energy vampire fiend created by Zurg, himself," Buzz added.

"Oh my," Volta said.

"Welp, time to catch the vampire's attention. Lets-a go!" Noelle spoke in a cheap Mario voice.

"Yeah!" Volta began running after her before she was stopped by Buzz

"Volta!"

"Yes, sir?" She turned to him.

"Can your technical skills combat NOS-4-A2's?" he asked.

Volta's face turned serious. "Of course, sir."

"Good. You may need them."

"Yes, sir." And with that she ran to catch up with Noelle. The two raced down the hall.

About a minute later, the two groups had been well-separated from each other. As Buzz and Mira ran down the hall they suddenly heard a voice.

"Stop right there, Lightyear," came the voice of NOS-4-A2 over the intercom as an emergency door slammed down in front of them. "You're not going anywhere."

"NOS-4-A2!" Buzz yelled; then proceeded to run back down the hallway, but he and Mira were stopped by another emergency door.

" _I said_ you're not going _anywhere._ " NOS-4-A2 repeated with a light chuckle.

"Blast!"

"I saw you coming down the hallway. Don't think I have forgotten about you. You be good little rangers, and stay at your post."

Mira rolled her eyes and began to ghost herself through the wall.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," NOS-4-A2 hissed. "I already have minions outside your door. One wrong step and ZAP! One ranger down~."

Mira ghosted her head though the door to make sure he wasn't bluffing. Peeking, she did in fact see severed wires pointed at her, sparking, with a host of zombie spacesuits, lasers at the ready, behind them.

"Go ahead, Princess. Make the job easier for me."

"Creep." Mira snapped as she brought herself back in by Buzz. "He flanked _us_ …"

"It's all up to the others now…" Buzz said, quietly.

★

Volta and Noelle approached the locked doorway of Mission Control. "Okay, so without him noticing us we sneak up behind him and tackle him until he agrees to undo the whole thing." Noelle suggested. "We can hold him down so Ranger Lightyear and Ranger Nova can beat him up!"

"You think that'll work?" Volta asked, as she pulled off a panel of the floor so that they could sneak in.

"It's the only plan we got. Hopefully, I won't screw it up for the both of us."

"I have faith in you, Ranger Starr," Volta said in a light and positive voice.

Noelle smiled. "Thanks, Volta."

The two then went through the floor and under the door. They made their way through, navigating around minion wires, and they made it to the top. They kept an eye out for the energy vampire. From where Noelle could she could see the bound rangers, and then NOS-4-A2.

"I spy with my little eye something evil." Noelle whispered.

"And I see rangers XR and Munchapper and the commander. He has them hostage." Volta eyes shifted from them to NOS-4-A2, who came into her line of sight, looming over XR. "So that's NOS-4-A2," she whispered.

"Yeah, sad guy isn't he? We'll set them free once we get NOS to let them go. Ready when you are."

"I don't see Ranger Lightyear or Nova, though."

"They're probably hiding until we make the first move."

"Now, on the count of three we'll jump on him…1… 2… 3!"

The two leapt to tackle the villain! They both tackled the energy vampire, knocking him to the ground as he let out his signature roar. It rattled in the girls' ears. NOS-4-A2 thrashed about, beneath them.

"Ow! SON OF A MONKEY! Calm down!" Noelle spoke as she held him down. "No offense to your monkey friend, Volta."

With another and powerful thrust of his arms and wings, he shoved them off, leaving them to hit the floor as he flew up into the air.

"Aw, come on!" Noelle yelled.

"How dare you?! All the rangers are supposed to be locked out of the main hallways!" the vampire yelled at them.

"It didn't work…" Volta murmured.

"Gah, once again I blew it… Nice going Noelle, you big tool." Noelle groaned.

"Volta!" XR yelled.

"Who's the other ranger?" Booster asked.

"I’m nobody important sir, just hang in there. Volta and I will rescue you." Noelle said calmly.

"Mm, Volta?" NOS-4-A2 licked his lips. "That sounds like an appetizing name. Unfortunately, I have no interest in dining on organisms, so I'll have to put you two with your friends and feed you to the dogs!"

Noelle pointed her laser blast at the fiend. "Not as… long as I’m living and breathing, champ. Now, I'm gonna give you a chance to surrender and release the hostages, m'kay?" She shot.

NOS-4-A2 let out a roar and swooped down, dodging the beam. He flew straight toward Noelle, but before she could react, NOS-4-A2's sheer force sent her flying into a mass of minion wires.

"OW!"

The wires wrapped themselves around her, trapping her and leaving her hanging upside-down in their grasp.

"I’m not done fighting you, let me go and face me like a man!" Noelle shouted.

Silently smiling, NOS-4-A2 calmly landed back on the ground.

"Ranger Starr!" Volta cried from behind him.

"Hang on Volta! I'll be right out!" Noelle struggled. "Just need to move correctly…"

NOS-4-A2 then turned to face Volta, his next target. In the blink of an eye, he had flown over to her and tightly grasped her arms, but before he could go any further, he suddenly stopped. He tilted his head from side to side around Volta, as if he was looking for something. "What is this energy I sense…?"

With her natural strength Noelle's arms slowly reached to her neckline to find a tool to aid her escape. Booster, XR, and Nebula could only watch helplessly, in the trap of the cables and wires. Then, beside XR, the little monkey creature had hopped up next to him, playing with the wires like they were vines.

"Hey, little guy. Aren't you supposed to be in a cage?" XR asked it.

Eager to find to find the source of the electricity he was sensing, NOS-4-A2 held onto Volta as she tried to escape. He looked up and down her person, occasionally feeling around, but he couldn't find anything that would signify an electronic.

Noelle blinked as she continued to reach for her neck. She then slowly slipped out a pocketknife and cut some wires off her left arm.

"Where is the device you hide from me…?" NOS-4-A2 seductively hissed. "What power… do you possess…?"

Volta continued to try to escape from him, but the more she tried to move, his arms pinned her closer to his person, and she could feels his sharp fingers digging in through her uniform. When, she began to gasp from the pressure he was putting on her, the little scanner that she was using on the animals, fell from her pocket. It clicked and clattered onto the floor, catching NOS-4-A2's attention.

The little monkey guy was nibbling on the wires surrounding XR. He was cutting XR free! Well, more like eating him a way out.

"Just a little more, little guy," XR whispered to it, as he could get his arms free.

Trying to take advantage of his distraction, Volta attempted to struggle free again, but NOS-4-A2 was quick to pin her back to his torso, causing her make a small yelp.

Noelle freed her left arm and started to work on her right arm. "Hang in there, Volta…”

After a moment of over looking the scanner on the floor, NOS-4-A2's face quickly became one of disinterest and turned back to Volta. "That's not it. What else are you hiding from me-?” He paused again. A small grin crossed his face when he realized, the true source of the energy was already well in his possession. "It is you… What a deceitful little creature you are… I suppose I _will_ kindly eat you up… android…" He hastily grasped the back of Volta's head and exposed her neck, forcing her make more little screams. He bared his drill-bit fangs over her neck, ready to pierce it.

Then out of nowhere, a sudden cry of what sounded like the metallic cry of some jungle man, XR swung over on a mass of wire and knocked NOS-4-A2 away with a sharp kick, causing NOS-4-A2 to release Volta; sending the both of them sprawling to the ground.

Volta was quick to get back up. Noelle reached for her legs and feet and cut them loose, causing her to fall to the floor! She got up as well and went to help the others. NOS-4-A2 took less time to even look up, grasping his side. As it would seem XR did cause some damage to the powerful robot.

"No one gets special tune-ups from Volta but me!" XR snapped at him.

"And me!" XL shouted from afar.

"Oh, then you wouldn't mind doing your dark master a favor, hm, little one?" NOS-4-A2 glared at the smaller robot.

"Oh what? No-no-no…" XR scrambled nervously, shaking his hands and backing off.

"Hear me, little one…" NOS-4-A2 called to him.

"Yes, master-," XR's eyes flickered red for a second but turned back to yellow. "SIKE!"

"What?" NOS-4-A2 asked as he got up.

"Well, you… I don't know. You just have no effect on me anymore, I guess," XR said.

Noelle pointed her laser at his head. "Ahem"

NOS-4-A2 scowled at her. "Agh… It must be because I've been reprogrammed that now my configurations have been reset. … No matter… I'll just take another bite out of you!" NOS-4-A2 quickly swooped below Noelle's laser before she could fire at him, and he charged at XR, fangs exposed.

"GAH!" XR screamed.

Suddenly, WHAM! Several of Volta's robotic arms had come from her person and slammed NOS-4-A2 into the center wall before he got too close.

"W- What the-?" NOS-4-A2 struggled to say, as the air had just been knocked out of him.

"Nice one, Volta!" Noelle shouted with joy.

"You've made a mistake in underestimating me, NOS-4-A2," Volta said to him sternly, her extra arms elegantly displayed around her. "I am no android."

NOS-4-A2 struggled from his position in the wall, flew up and looked down to her. "Then, what are you?"

"I am an eleckit," she lightly smiled and outstretched her primary arms, presenting herself. "I am a creature made up of organic tissue interlaced with nanotechnology. I am both an organism and a robot, yet I am neither."

"Is that so?" NOS-4-A2 asked, amused. "A creature like you on Star Command… You must be one of the technicians working here. I should thank you."

Volta's smile disappeared.

"It's thanks to you I managed to come into Star Command, undetected. There was a nice, big hole in the security field that I could easily pass through."

"Oh, cheese balls…” Noelle suddenly gets the picture. ”While it maybe a mistake, Star Command needed the upgrades!" Noelle defended.

NOS-4-A2 ignored her. "Thank you, Miss Volta. As compensation I'll refrain from draining your energy…" he looked over to XR. "… first." He immediately swooped down, and before anything could be done, he had grabbed XR and he landed behind a console with the helpless bot. A flash of sparks emitted form behind it.

"Oh no! XR!" Booster cried.

Noelle ran to stop him, "Dang it! Stop!"

A laser shot out from behind it, knocking Noelle over.

“AHHH!" Noelle screamed. She fell on the floor with tears coming out. "Ow…"

"No one will stop my dark master~!" a hypnotized XR drawled as he rolled out from behind the console, with one of his guns drawn and had two little holes in his person. His once-again master followed him out into the open.

"No, not again…!" Booster moaned as the little monkey guy was still trying to free him.

"Ranger Starr!" Volta yelled.

Again, this caught the attention of NOS-4-A2. "Little one, are you now willing to do that favor for your dark master?"

"Yes… I will the retrieve main course for my dark master…" XR said as he rolled towards Volta.

Noelle’s tears came down when she looked at XR and NOS-4-A2 with sadness.

"No, Ranger XR! No! I don't want to be against you!" Volta backed away from him.

"S-Stop… XR" Noelle stood.

XR just kept getting closer and closer to Volta.

Noelle finally stopped crying. She wiped her eyes and looked to XR.

XR… you don’t need to do this… you don't have to listen to him. As if you take orders from a bad guy. It’s… complicated for me to say things like that since I never said anything like this before but…your friends need you XR. You need to fight this and protect everyone from NOS and his friends. Please XR… Please…"

★

Meanwhile, Buzz and Mira were still stuck behind the walls. Wires and suits had their attentions fixed to the doors on either side, waiting for any sign of movement to shoot. The rangers may have been very well trapped, but they had a plan.

"You sure this'll work?" Mira quietly asked Buzz.

"Yeah, we just have to be quick… Ready… Set… GO! GO! GO!"

From out behind the wall, Mira ghosted Buzz and his now empty suit out from the doors. The zombie space suits shot at the empty suit that was shielding Buzz and Mira. Mira then drew her laser and shot all of the enemy suits and wires, decommissioning all of them.

"Good work, ranger!" Buzz cheered.

"Thank you, Buzz."

"To the control room!" he declared as they began running down the hall.

"I hope were not too late," Mira followed.

★

NOS-4-A2 laughed evilly as Volta was nearly in XR's grasp.

"Everyone loves you, XR… You can’t give in to him… This isn't you… please…" Noelle pleaded.

NOS-4-A2 came up from behind her and grabbed her. She struggled, but her attentions were fixated on her comrade.

"Please XR, we're counting on you! Help your friends before its too late! XR… DON'T GIVE UP!" Noelle made a mighty cry.

"You're voice won't help him, my dear. The only one he listens to is mine."

Noelle wasn’t going to take this anymore. "NOS, I’m awfully sorry,” she said.

"For what?"

“This."

Noelle elbowed NOS-4-A2 in the torso, where he had been injured, and then ran to get XR. " I'll send you apology batteries when we lock you up, okay?"

NOS-4-A2 cowered back, holding his side and growled. "XR! Stop that despicable ranger!" he commanded XR.

XR turned around, ignoring Volta and faced Noelle.

Noelle ran to XR getting ready to rearrange his programming. "Sorry XR, but it’s for your own good." She quickly dodged XR’s grasp, and reached the door that protected his insides. She got in, struggling not to get hurt by the still hypnotized robot. She then started to use circuits to get XR running again. With each wire and circuit Noelle rearranged his programming. "XR?" she asked.

XR suddenly made a movement as if he was almost electrocuted, but he seemed fine. His eyes flickered yellow again. He looked at Noelle and lightly smiled. "Hello, pretty lady."

"Hi, XR." Noelle smiled.

He then fell over, with quick, metallic thud.

"Eh?"

"NO!" NOS-4-A2 shouted.

"Guess I overdid it…" Noelle shrugged.

"XR!" yelled Booster, who finally was free and ran over to the others.

"Oh." Volta knelt by XR and rolled him over. "I think he's just temporarily shut down so NOS-4-A2's signal doesn't interfere with him. Brilliant idea, Ranger Starr."

Noelle snapped her fingers. " I knew that strange microchip meant something!"

"You mean you did this without realizing which robot part worked?!" NOS-4-A2 asked, looking surprised.

"Hey, I know my way around a robot faster then a bar patron knows his beer. I know what I’m doing."

"Obviously…" NOS-4-A2 said grimly.

"Hold it right there, Count Dracula!" NOS-4-A2 heard from behind him. It was Buzz Lightyear, with Mira at his side, pointing her laser at him, since Buzz was still without a working suit. "Now, that you're revived and had your fun messing up Star Command, how 'bout a little vacation over at PC-7?" he asked, righteously.

"Buzz!" Booster cheered with delight.

"Lightyear! How did you escape?!" NOS-4-A2 exclaimed.

"You can never trap justice! Surrender!" Buzz pointed to him.

NOS-4-A2 gritted his teeth and clenched his fists in angry silence. He then looked to the other side of the room.

"You're surrounded, NOS-4-A2!" Booster said, getting up and pointing his laser at him.

"NOS… Just give yourself up and we'll show you mercy, okay?" Noelle calmly said with her laser pointed to him

NOS-4-A2 grimaced. "Surrendering is not in my programming!"

"But it can be your choice! You got the power to choose despite what your programming says!" Noelle reasoned.

"Ridiculous! It's also in my programming not to go against Evil Emperor Zurg!" NOS-4-A2 yelled at her. "It's also in my programming to annihilate anyone who gets in my way!" He was about to swoop down and attack them again, but he was stopped.

"Hold up, NOSsy!" came the voice of Zurg from one of the computers.

"Zurg!" Buzz scowled.

"Helloooo, Lightyear and friends!" he said cheerfully with a wiggle of his fingers. "NOS-4-A2, you're welcome to come back home. You've done just what I expected you to accomplish!"

"Zurg…" NOS-4-A2 muttered, confusingly.

Noelle turned and saw Zurg and stared. So this was he…

"What are you up to, Zurg?" Buzz asked.

"Oh, nothing too special~! Just your demise and me taking over the galaxy."

"Sounds like the usual garbage to me," a now free Commander Nebula said, walking over with the monkey-thing on his shoulder.

"On the contraire, Commander, it's much more elaborate then what you think. I'm bringing back all of my minions, Lightyear…" he said slyly. "I have new allies, as well. Much more than you could ever imagine."

"Whatever you’re up to, your majesty, it’s not going to work. We will find you." Noelle said, sternly

"Not if I destroy you first! BAHAHAHAHA!" he laughed. "Come home, NOSsy. You’re done for the solar cycle."

Before anyone could turn to NOS-4-A2, he flew himself right through the window, smashing a whole in it, just like how he came in. Air began leaving the room very quickly.

"Bye-bye, Lightyear," Zurg waved. "HAHAHAHAHAHA-!" The monitor turning off cut off his laugh.

Air was being pulled from the room, and so was everything else. Volta and Noelle were suddenly pulled up into the air, but Booster caught them. XR began to fly away but Volta was quick to catch him. The other rangers were hanging on to whatever they could. The LGMs were secure in their wire wrappings.

Nebula reached for a button on a console, struggling not to loose his footing or grip. "Come on, shields!" He slammed the button and the windows were all covered with metal plating, stopping the air from escaping. And with that everyone dropped to the floor with a thud.

Noelle let out an "Oof!"

"Ow!" Mira yelped.

"Is everyone, alright?" Nebula asked.

Everyone gave positive responses, except for Volta who was fiddling with XR.

"Good!" Nebula said with a thumbs-up.

"Almost there…" Volta said, being followed by a loud clunking sound.

XR quickly hummed back to life. "Happy birthday!" he said.

Booster chuckled, "XR, it's not your birthday!"

"Oh really? I thought it was." He looked up to Volta. "I'm sitting on a babe's lap, after all."

"O.m.g…" Noelle laughed.

"Hey, I'm not under NOS-4-A2's control anymore!"

"Yep! And it's all thanks to Volta!" Noelle clapped her hands.

"Nope. NOS-4-A2 is gone, now. He's out of range, so he can't control you," informed Volta. "You can thank Ranger Starr for temporarily shutting you down, so you wouldn't be controlled, in the meantime."

Noelle blushed in embarrassment. "Eh, I didn't do anything special…"

XR got up from Volta's lap, but then suddenly fell over. As soon as he hit the ground, all four of his limbs fell off.

Volta put her hands to her cheeks. "Oh dear."

"Aw great. First, the arm; now, everything…" XR said, annoyed.

Noelle sighed then picked up one of his arms. "Just hang on, XR sir."

"Actually, I think I want Volta to fix me up a little. I kinda have her listed as my primary technician, now."

"Alright then." Noelle put down his arm.

"Looks like you and your friends are gonna have a little more work to do, Volta," Commander Nebula said to her. "You can start with finishing whatever is making the security field have holes in it."

"Of course, sir." Volta stood and made a short, solemn bow to him.

The little monkey fella guy was still on Nebula's shoulder, moving around a little bit.

"Hey, Lightyear, this wouldn't happen to be one of the animals that was brought on your ship, would it?" he asked, pointing to the fella.

"Yes sir, it seems he did his part to help us defeat NOS-4-A2." He noticed him nibbling on a piece of wire.

"Yeah, the guy was kind enough to chew us all out." he scratched the guy's head. "Don’t know how he managed to not get electrocuted, though."

"I believe it has to do with the creatures' diet consisting of metals.” Volta answered. “They seemed to have developed no conductive materials in their mouth so that they don't get electrocuted."

"Is that so?" Nebula asked. "Quite the nifty hobby."

"Being that interesting, I'm sure the Pandora Zoo on Capital Planet wouldn't mind taking them all for study," Buzz suggested. "They'll give'em all a good home too."

"All of them?" Mira asked. "I think we may have found you a good pet, Buzz."

"I told you I don't want a pet!"

"Riiiiiiiight."

"Um what about Zurg?" Booster asked.

" _He’s_ definitely not going to be my pet!" Buzz replied.

"No, no… I mean what are we going to do about him?"

"Oh yeah, uh… yeah, we need to stop him. Find out what he's doing…" Buzz scratched the back of his head. “We can set out on a mission to Planet Z to try and figure out what he's up to."

"Well, I guess that's it for me then." Noelle said as she started to leave.

"Hold on, ranger," Buzz ordered.

Noelle froze. "Yes, sir?"

"XR is… gonna be out of commission for a while, so we're short one ranger." He motioned to XR, seated on the ground. "We need someone to fill in for him, for the mission, tomorrow."

"Considering you played a big part in today's victory, I think that makes you eligible to be a substitute."

Noelle felt nervous inside but kept on a straight face. "Yes, sir. As you command, sir!"

"Hey, it's not like there's going to be animals on board," Mira smiled.

"Yes ma'am, its just that I don't think I would do a good job…"

"Star Command is no place for wimps, so don't sound like one," said Nebula. "But after what I saw, I know you're ranger material. So, go be a ranger."

"Yes, Commander." Noelle saluted.

She then left to go to her room.

"You sure that was a good idea, Buzz?" Mira asked, skeptically. "I think she needs more than just encouragement."

"She's a ranger, Mira. It's all she needs." Buzz said with confidence. "Besides she'll come around."

"It won't be if she keeps-up that attitude, Buzz." Nebula stepped in. "That's the attitude I see in _Jr._ Space Rangers. If she doesn't believe in herself, she can get someone killed or I may have to let her go."

"I understand, Commander. Yet, I have a feeling she won't feel this way much longer."

★

Far off from Star Command, drifting in deep space was Zurg's ship. Zurg sat in his chair, and he was accompanied by NOS-4-A2. The battered robot was levitating close to the one window in the room, clutching the side where XR had kicked him.

"Excellent, NOS-4-A2! You did exactly as I had hoped you would!"

"Just what _did_ I do, Zurg?" he asked.

"You infiltrated Star Command, and you hacked their network!" Zurg declared. "And I assume you have all the data of Star Commands records, yes?" He put his fingers together in anticipation.

"Yes, of course, but didn't you want me to take full control of Star Command?"

"Nah, we'll save that for later." Zurg 'brushed off' the subject with a motion of his hand.

NOS-4-A2 made an unamused face.

"We now know the exact floor plans and location of _everything_ in Star Command. We know _who_ everyone is and _what_ everything is." he turned back to NOS-4-A2. "It's like a tower of blocks that I have built with my own hands, and I am ready knock it all down! BWAHAHAHAH!"

"I see," said NOS-4-A2.

"And what's even better, is that we also have Buzz Lightyear's attention! I bet he's planning a visit to Planet Z, as we speak…" Zurg mused.

"Probably with that new Space Ranger that got in my way…." NOS said bitterly

"You were only phase one in our master plan, NOS-4-A2… And we will have many more, in the future. We are going to tear the Galactic Alliance apart, bit by bit…!" He paused, and he turned to NOS-4-A2, again. "By the way, if you're hungry I brought some extra hornetz along, for you to chew on."

NOS-4-A2 made a light grunt as he turned to the window, still clutching his side.

"Oh, and another thing," Zurg said. "Next time you get blown to bits, remind me to reinforce your body with some more teryllium. We don't want you getting too many dents…"

NOS-4-A2 rolled his eyes, and then gazed out the window. "What I hunger for…" He muttered to himself. "That energy that I sensed from the eleckit being… It was so powerful I could almost taste it. I hope to meet her again… I will absolutely love sinking my fangs into her neck." He chuckled to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art used:  
> https://www.deviantart.com/xsweetslayerx/art/BLofSC-Star-Chronicles-Two-New-Characters-516102555


	3. Infiltrate the Evil Tower

****

**Buzz Lightyear of Star Command**

★ **Star Chronicles** ★

**Star 3: Infiltrate the Evil Tower**

Morning had come to Star Command, after a rebuilt NOS-4-A2 tried to claim the station as Zurg’s, once again. It was also revealed by Zurg himself that he was planning something more devious than usual, alongside new allies. Buzz wanted to know what the old foe was up to. Also, not everyone escaped in one piece. XR was damaged in the battle. Now needing to be repaired, he was absent from the group. Buzz, Mira, Booster and temporarily recruited Ranger Noelle Starr and were readying their selves to go to Planet Z.

"Hey, Buzz. I'm gonna go check on XR before we leave. Is that okay?" Booster asked his leader.

"Sure, Booster. Go say ‘see ya later’ to him, for all of us. I've got some things I want to point out with Ranger Starr."

Noelle looked a little confused. "Eh?"

"Alright, be right back!" Booster left the room in a hurry.

"What's wrong, sir?" Noelle asked.

"I just want to make sure you get your bearings before we land on Planet Z. It's Zurg's domain, so it can be very dangerous," Buzz explained as he packed some stuff from out of his locker.

Noelle nodded. "Yes, sir. I'll be careful, sir."

"It'll take more than just being careful. You need to know what to expect." Buzz looked to her very seriously. "Let me tell you the ins and outs of Zurg's fortress…"

★

In the science bay, XR was once again laid upon a bench, being worked on by Volta. They were joined by XL and the little metal-eating monkey creature. They were soon to be joined by another. Booster walked in.

"Hey, guys!" he called as he ran up to them.

XR was happy to see his buddy. "Heeeeeey! Booster!"

"Hello, Ranger Munchapper," Volta greeted.

"You don't have to call me that, Volta. Heehee. Everyone calls me Booster!"

She didn't look up from working on XR, but she smiled. "If that's alright with you, than I don't mind."

"I figured you guys would be on your way to beat up Zurg by now," XR wondered.

"No, but I just wanted to make sure everything was okay with you before we left."

"Well, isn't that sweet," came XL's voice from below him. He had that monkey thing crawling all over him.

"Ah! Is it okay that the little guy is on you, XL?" Booster looked worriedly at the creature atop XL. "He eats metal."

The monkey hugged XL while making monkey noises.

"He won't eat me. Not as long as I have scraps to feed him." XL handed the creature a bolt. "Turns out he loves you, if you do."

The monkey nommed on the bolt, while making a cute hamster face.

"Well, isn't that sweet," XR mocked his brother, causing XL to have a disgruntled look on his face.

Booster looked to XR and Volta. "Does he have a name, yet?"

"Not yet," Volta answered, still not looking up from her work.

The monkey thing started to roll around everywhere.

"Maybe we could name him something special. Something like that because he helped so much, yesterday." Booster said enthusiastically, as he let little the creature up onto his arm. "He deserves a gold medal, so maybe we could call him Goldie?"

The little guy made little squeaks.

"Naaah… He gets points off because he tried to eat me, earlier. He gets a silver medal," XR said with a little irritation.

"So… Silver?" XL asked.

The monkey jumped up and down, seemingly in glee.

"Well, his fur is mostly silver." Booster petted the fella. "And he seems to like it."

Volta finally looked up from XR. "Then perhaps it is a good name," she smiled.

Silver nuzzled Booster.

"Geez, he likes you and you haven't even given him anything to eat." XR crossed his now-usable arms.

"I uh… actually gave him some scraps of metal leftover from the broken computers, last night." Booster blushed in guilt.

Silver nuzzled Booster more, then hopped over to XR and made a silly face.

XR looked annoyed at Silver. "I'm sorry, but I don't have anything to give you! And I've been broken the past two days because of you, your buddies, and a certain energy vampire, he who shall not be named!"

"Here. Give him this." Volta handed XR a little scrap of metal.

"Oh, thank you." XR took it from Volta and gave it to Silver.

Silver ate the piece and hugged XR.

"Hehe. Thanks. … Hey uh, Volta. Where did you get that piece of metal, exactly?"

"That? It was a grounding strap between your fusion crystal and your servo-pump."

"WHAT?" XR suddenly seemed to faint.

"It's alright. It was the old one that got damaged, before. It's thoroughly replaced."

"Good." XR weakly squeaked.

"Booster it's time to go!" Mira called from the doorway.

"Oh! Oh yeah, coming!" he answered. "See ya, guys! Bye, Silver." He petted Silver's little head before leaving.

Silver made sad monkey noises. Oh, the humanity.

The rangers got on board of 42 and made their way to Planet Z. It took a few hours to get there at the darkest corner of space, the Zeta Quadrant, but they managed to infiltrate silently. Little did they know, they were being expected.

★

"BAHAHAHAHA!" came the evil laugh of the _very_ evil Emperor Zurg. "Oh, they should be here any minute, now!" Zurg cheered with glee to his two attending lackies, Warp Darkmater and NOS-4-A2. "Tell me, Warp. Are the hornetz in position?"

"Yep! All ready to fry Lightyear and his goody two-shoe crew. “

"Splendid! And if you are correct, NOS-4-A2, than that bloody robot won't be making an appearance, tonight! They'll be easy pickins…" Zurg said, deviously.

On the large monitor of the room, the three villains watched Buzz and the others get out of the ship.

Zurg smiled at the pictures on his screen. “He thinks I don’t see him. How delightful.”

★

"Be cautious rangers…” Buzz warned.

"It seems too quiet… I wonder if anyone's home?" Noelle asked.

"We need to infiltrate the building without getting spotted. A secret passage should be right over there." Buzz pointed to some big rocks.

"Aw sweet! A secret passage! Let's go!" Booster said excitedly.

Buzz hurried them along. "Quickly! Make sure we’re watching each others’ back!"

"Yes, Buzz," answered Mira.

"Of course," Booster added.

"Yes, sir." Noelle said politely.

★

"Warp, where are you?" Zurg asked into the communicator on his throne.

"I'm at the end of secret tunnel #5. Buzz will more than likely make his exit out here. I sent some hornetz up ahead. … Just to make sure he didn't get lost," he smirked.

"Excellent, excellent. Oh, feel free to let a ranger or two go, for NOSsy. He'll be waiting with his vampire hornetz on the fifteenth floor."

“The fifteenth floor… Yeah, how far is that from the top again?” Warp asked.

Zurg was as lost as Warp. "I don't know. Somewhere in the middle?"

“Just how many floors does Zurg Tower have?

“I… I’m sure I had forty floors built in and then some, when we rebuilt.”

“Forty?! Than the fifteenth floor would be closer the ground!”

“No! I’m sure it’s near the middle and closer to the top!”

“Closer to the top?! I doubt that!”

“YOU DOUBT YOUR EMPEROR?!” Zurg bellowed.

“NO! I’M DOUBTING-!”

“I AM ON THE TWENTITH FLOOR!” NOS-4-A2 cut in, angrily.

Zurg and Warp paused in stunned silence.

The energy vampire sighed over his communicator. “I moved to the twentieth floor… “

“And… Where is that?” Warp asked.

“ _Above you_ , you miserable, organic moron!” NOS-4-A2 barked and hung up on the two.

Zurg and Warp were left silent, again.

“… He’s on the twentieth floor.” Zurg said.

“Twentieth floor. Got it.”

They both hung up their communicators.

★

"Ow!" Booster yelped.

"Sorry, Booster," Buzz apologized.

Noelle tiptoed through the dark until she tripped and fell on something metal. "Ouch!"

"You okay?" Booster asked, helping her up.

Yeah, I think so… I must've fell on something metallic, though. Maybe a door?"

"No, it's too soon. Must have been something else." Buzz said.

A light lit up and there were a horde of hornetz.

Noelle looked up and down on the robots and deeply breathed in. "I am happy with my life… I am happy with my life." Then, she raised her laser at them and fired. One immediately fell.

The others continued to fire upon the rangers. They fired their lasers at the hornetz, driving them away, deeper inside of Zurg's palace. Many dropped from being shot with lasers. Now, the rangers had to climb over all of them.

They finally came to their exit, which had been opened by the enemy. They went over the damaged robots and headed inside, where Warp was waiting for them. Buzz was the first to recognize him.

"Warp…" Buzz growled.

"Hello, ex-partner. How was the trip up?" With a flip of his mechanical hand he pulled out his laser and shot at them, causing them to scatter.

Noelle flipped out of the way and pointed her laser.

"Don't move, Mr. Darkmatter."

"Same old tricks, huh rangers?" Warp activated his wings and flew up into the air. "You guys never change."

The rangers started shooting at Warp. He flew around, dodging every single laser.

"Hornetz… show them what real fire power looks like," he effortlessly commanded.

The hornetz shot a massive amount of their own lasers at the rangers. The rangers kept firing taking down as much hornetz as they can. Unfortunately, more hornetz took their place.

"C'mon Buzz, your in the hive mind!" Warp called as some more hornetz appeared. "You're gonna have to be more creative if you want to get through this."

Noelle quickly pulled out a device from her pack. "Hey, hornetz! Lookie what I got!"

A flash of light engulfed the room making the hornetz fall on the floor.

"I don't mean to give orders, but let's skedaddle!" Noelle shouted.

“Hold it right there!" Warp launched some grenades in their direction.

Buzz shot the grenades with his laser, causing them to blow-up before they got near to them. “Lasers are still good for something, Warp!" Buzz took off into the air and went after Warp. "You guys go ahead. I'll deal with Warp," he called.

Mira looked at Buzz with worry. "But Buzz, the hornetz!"

"They'll still be down by the time I leave!" he smiled as he chased Warp up somewhere else.

The three rangers ran off into the hallways, trying to get to the main computer.

"What a cool idea, Noelle!" praised Booster. "Bringing a frequency disruptor along!"

"It's a good thing XR wasn't with us." Mira added.

"T-Thanks! Yeah, I can tell XR wouldn't be happy if he woke up from that." Noelle smiled.

"Anyway, lets continue to find Zurg. I’m sure he's in his home somewhere."

"We're not trying to find Zurg! We're trying to find the main computer!" Mira reminded her as they ran.

"Oh right…" Noelle sighed.

It took them a while to get from floor to floor and find their way around, without getting caught. Eventually, they made it to another room where it’s pretty dark.

"Oh great, another dark room." Mira complained.

"Could we really expect anything less in Zurg's home?" Booster asked.

"Of course! But it's especially dark for me!" came a familiar voice.

“I sense a disturbance within this reality, as if a thousand robots cried out then stopped." Noelle joked.

"You're on the right path, pesky little ranger." NOS-4-A2 appeared from the darkest of the shadows. "And what an awful surprise to see _you_ here…"

"I have a name, you know. And sorry again for hitting you, but I had to help XR," Noelle said.

"How come your apologizing to him?!" Mira asked.

"Save apologies for villains who don't feel like exacting their revenge!" And with his signature roar he called forth many vampire hornetz from the shadows and into the room. "My underlings! Attack!" he commanded.

Noelle took cover. "It’s… a flaw, and politeness is what I need to use for anyone I meet. Plus my mother would kill me!"

"Noelle! Use the disruptor, again!" called Booster.

Noelle pulled it out, but it was still on cool-down. "Can anyone distract him for a minute, its still recharging!"

NOS-4-A2 quickly flew in front of her, and snagged the frequency disruptor from her hands. He suspended himself in the air behind her, the device clasped in between his hands. "How about I make things easier and have it recharge… never!" And with that his drilled his fangs into it, sucking out what little energy there was in it. When it was empty, he tore it apart, and discarded it onto the floor.

"NOS, STOP! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING!" Noelle warned.

The pieces clacked on the floor, parts spilling out. NOS-4-A2 put his hands on his hips in anticipation, waiting to see what exactly he shouldn’t have done. Mira and Booster gazed over it as well. Moments passed. Nothing happened.

Noelle paled over knowing her bluff failed. "And just when I… Greeeeeeaaaaaaaaaat…"

"Now, Ranger Starr…" NOS-4-A2 leered down to her. "Whatever will you do?"

Noelle sighed, then looked at NOS-4-A2. "Well NOSsy, buddy, it looks like you leave me no choice…."

She reached into her bag and pulled out an entirely different weapon. NOS-4-A2, Mira, and Booster gasped at the sight of the objects. SUPER SOAKER WATER GUNS.

"Wetter is better!" Noelle smirked.

"You can't be serious…" NOS-4-A2 grumbled.

Noelle only shrugged. "Blame my father…”

"Besides metal rusts when water touches it."

NOS-4-A2 made a confused expression of disbelief on his face, and gestured with his hands to Booster and Mira, as if asking _is this woman for real?_

They shrugged with the same confused expressions.

Noelle laughs a little. "It’s okay. I get that a lot."

"I think you fail to realize that it takes a very long time for metal to rust." NOS-4-A2 taunted. "… Or that the hornetz and myself are made with teryllium-carbonic alloy." He tapped his torso with one of his fingers.

"It does…?” Noelle facepalmed, again. "I guess years of isolation and training made me forget things… Nice job, Noelle."

"Isolation and training?" Booster asked in a whisper to Mira.

"I don't know. What planet is _she_ from?"

"Its a long story I just needed time to think and reflect."

"You can think and reflect when your cosmic dust! My vampire hornetz, annihilate!" NOS-4-A2 commanded his servants of the night. They flew down to the rangers to begin their attack.

Noelle took out her smoke pellets and smashed them to the floor. Booster and Mira felt a tug on their arms as they got pulled out of the room.

As the smoke cleared there was only a big pack of triple-A batteries on the floor. NOS-4-A2 floated over to the battery pile and picked up a note that was lying atop them. It read _I.O.U. deez. - Ranger Noelle Starr_.

"That woman cannot be for real," NOS-4-A2 muttered as he crushed the letter in his hand. He picked up the batteries and at first glared at them, but as strange as she was she _did_ apologize and she _did_ promise. He did a little huff as his frustration died down a bit. Considering energy was energy, he hid the batteries within his cape. "Vampire hornetz, cover all the exits, pipes, and the proceeding three floors. We’re going to peck off each ranger one by one if we must!"

Noelle, Mira, and Booster appeared in the hallway, Noelle leaned on the wall and shook her head.

"I did it again…” She thought bitterly. "Those stupid traumatic events affect my mind still…”

"It's okay, Noelle. We all blunder once in a while." Booster comforted. "Right, Mira?"

"Yeah, we do."

A couple of tears sneaked out but she quickly wiped them off. "I know… I apologize… Let’s continue to find the computer…"

The three kept walking down the hallway and it seems to be a VERY long hallway. "Good grief… How much further do we have to go?" Noelle huffed.

"According to Buzz and my memory, there should be an exit into the main hallway, right here." Bootser leaned on a part of the wall, which turned out to be a vent. "Oh yeah, this is it." Booster peeked his head out of the opening, but with a gasp he quickly shut it.

"What's wrong, Booster?" Mira asked.

Booster looked very panicked. "There's vampire hornetz out there."

Noelle started to think. “We need a plan."

"We might have to make a distraction…" Mira suggested. "One or two of us will have to run and try to get a head."

"Okay. And who's going to run?" Noelle asked.

"I don't know."

"I think it would be best if two of us run… But there was a lot out there…" Booster murmured.

Mira pondered for a moment, then looked up. "Our best chance might just be to take them all on as group. And then we'll see who can get through."

"Okay!" Booster and Noelle agreed.

The three rangers went through the vent and did a surprise attack on the vampire hornetz! The monster robots hissed and flew in for the attack! Lasers flew and struck down the monstrous hornetz, before they got too close.

"Lasers rule! Hornetz drool!" Noelle shouted.

More vampire hornets came in. It wasn't long until they were followed by their master.

"There you are!" called NOS-4-A2.

The rangers shot the other hornets then at NOS-4-A2.

NOS-4-A2 quickly dodged it. "More vampire hornetz!"

"How about nu?" Noelle asked with a frown.

As more came in, Mira could tell that they we're going to be overwhelmed. She saw that the fewest amount of them were around Noelle. She was their only chance.

"Noelle!" she called.

"Yes?" Noelle called back.

"There's too many!" Booster said as he blasted and bashed one hornet after the other.

"You have to go on with out us!" Mira said.

Noelle paled over. "I thought we're going together!"

"Change of plans! Only one of us can go!" Booster kept shooting.

"We'll be fine! Go go go!" Mira shouted.

With reluctance, Noelle ran off to look for the computer. She snuck her way around floor after floor, avoiding all hazards by sneaking around in the vents and passageways Buzz had told her about. After what seemed like a long climb, Noelle found her way to another big room with a massive computer.

She sighed with relief. “Made it…"

She wasn’t alone, though. The room was scattered with busy grubs and brain pods. Most were concentrated around the computer. That computer was more than likely carrying all the information the rangers were looking for. Noelle needed to get the workers of the evil emperor out of the room. Noelle had an idea but the question was, _will they fall for it?_ She stepped out into the open, before them.

"Look! It's a space ranger!" One of the grubs pointed.

They raised their weapons at her.

"This is as far as you go ranger!" One of the brain pods sneered.

Suddenly, Noelle pointed her laser to her head. "Nobody move or the girl gets it!" She said in a gruff tone.

An eerie silence filled the room as the grubs and brain pods looked at each other nervously then at Noelle.

"Drop your weapons before I blow this girl's head all over the room!" Noelle threatened. "Oh craters, I think she means it! Do what she says!"

Slowly, the brain pods and grubs put down their weapons.

"Good now get out of here! I got work to do! Remember! Any funny ideas and she dies!"

The grubs and brain pods left the room.

"Help me! Help me!” Noelle cried. Then she slapped herself fiercely. “Thank you, Blazing Saddles!”

Noelle made her way over to the giant computer and immediately went for whatever files she could open. They were all on people; villains who had worked alongside Zurg before, like Princess Gravatina and Torque. But past them there were files on other people; people Noelle had never heard of. Some seemed to be of high ranked positions in their species or businesses, very powerful people. Most of the information seemed to be just clerical, addresses and such, but some paths linked to contracts between Zurg and those people, about weapons and alliances.

“Holy craters! This is probably bigger then Aunt Lucy's cat!"

She then started to download the information. "Everybody at Star Command would _definitely_ want to see this!"

Suddenly, a giant ion blast came out of nowhere, hitting the massive computer, blowing the monitor and shutting it down. The information was lost.

"NO NO NO NO NO!!! ALL THE NOES!" Noelle pounded at the keyboard. “Okay, who's responsible for this kind of destruction?!"

Evil Emperor Zurg had entered the room, ion blaster in hand. "Buzz Lightyear, I had a feeling you'd be here, but not so soon… I'll have to have a talk with my boys about th- Hey wait a minute. You're not Lightyear!"

Noelle looked at Zurg then pulled out her wallet and took a look at her I.D. card. "Yep. I’m definitely not Buzz.”

Zurg raised his blaster to her. "Who are you, then?"

Noelle cleared her throat. "Hello, my name is Noelle Starr, rookie space ranger of Star Command. I am from Capital Planet and I’m filling XR's spot for today."

"Oooh, you're the rookie that gave NOS-4-A2 a hard time, yes?"

"Well, I did tell him I was sorry for hitting him, but he left me no choice. So yes, it was me."

"Assuming you gave him another hard time, downstairs, I'm sure he wouldn't mind me destroying you, myself. While I may admit you're smart enough to trick my minions and have good taste in entertainment, you're no Buzz Lightyear. Exterminating you should be child's play." With that, he fired his ion blaster at her.

Noelle quickly rolled out of the way and fired her laser. " Wait you watched Blazing Saddles too?"

Zurg leaned back to dodge the laser. "When you're an evil emperor you can watch everything! That includes annoying rangers getting blown to bits." He fired more rounds at Noelle.

Noelle flipped over the shot and fired some more as the light in the room reflects into her left eye shining the color brightly.

"What pretty eyes you have." Zurg admired the royal blue sheen. "What do the kiddies call them? Annie-ME eyes? They make good targets!" He fired again.

Noelle rolled again as she took cover. "I think the word you’re looking for is anime. Which reminds me, I still gotta watch Black Bullet…"

"Here's an ion bullet." Zurg fired another round, which blew the box Noelle was hiding behind, throwing her back.

Her face smacked into the wall. "Ow!"

Zurg then fired a off a three-way blast, at the now defenseless Noelle Starr.

Noelle quickly somersaulted out of the way. "Missed!" She then flips near Zurg and kicked his weapon out of his hand and pinned him to the wall. "That's for making me go splat!"

"Oh, you think that was a splat, do you? I'll show you a splat!" his eyes glowed red, ready to blast her with his laser vision.

Out of nowhere, a figure came and knocked Zurg over. It was Buzz who arrived and kicked Zurg down.

"Pick on someone your own size, Zurg!" Buzz triumphantly called to him.

"Lightyear! You're late!" Zurg scolded as he got up. "Being the pride of Star Command, I could at least expect you to be punctual!"

"Well, I guess you'll have to settle for fashionably late." Buzz smiled as he picked up Noelle and flew with her out of the room.

"Whooopie!" Noelle cheered.

"And to just leave like that! How rude! Hornetz! After them!" Zurg commanded as a fleet of hornetz flew above him.

"Are Booster and Mira alright, sir?" Noelle asked.

"We sure are!" Booster flew up, beneath them. He was joined by Mira.

Mira looked up to Buzz. "Retreating, sir?"

"For now. We may have been a little hasty coming here, today."

As soon as he said that, they started to be fired upon by the following hornetz.

"Oh boy!" Noelle sweatdropped. "Just so you know, sir, I found info!"

"That's good! Save it for when we’re not under attack! Can you fly?"

Noelle saluted. "Yes I can sir!" Noelle rolled out of Buzz’s arms and activated her jetpack.

Booster and Mira continued to cover for them, blasting hornetz out of the air. Buzz joined in taking down even more.

Noelle blew a few more from behind.

Eventually they made it out of Zurg’s palace and raced to the spaceship!

"Everyone in! Go go go!" Buzz commanded.

They went inside and started to take off

"Curse you, Buzz Lightyear!!!" cried Zurg from his tower.

As the ship flew off, Zurg stormed into his throne room and sat down to cool off. "That meddling-! That plan-destroying-…!" He shook angrily at the thought that Buzz Lightyear got away again, but somehow for some reason his mind wandered to this rookie nobody. Of course it was her fault too, but when he looked into her royal blue eyes. "Guh… What's with those eyes…?" he sighed to himself.

Warp and NOS came into the throne room. Warp was hung on NOS-4-A2's shoulders, supporting him from what was apparently a rough defeat. "Seems like they're getting more irritating, Zurg." he said.

"And more aggressive. The rookie managed to pin me to the wall," Zurg informed. "While kicking the ion blaster out of my hand. But no matter! Whether they find out the plan or not, it _doesn't_ matter. Whatever that rookie ranger saw, it may be enough to put Star Command on edge…” He followed with a light chuckle.

★

It felt like hours to get back home to Star Command, but the team made it back, safely.

"Thank goodness!" Noelle cried.

"Yeah, it's good to be home after smashing all those hornetz…" Booster sighed.

"Maybe XR is repaired, now," Mira added.

"I'm better than repaired!" came the familiar voice of their robot companion, who appeared before their path. "I'm fabulous!" He said with a twirl.

Noelle tried not to laugh.

"XR!" cried Booster as he picked-up his pal and squeezed him with hug.

XR struggled to speak in the tight embrace. "Whoa, whoa! Buddy, I just got fixed!"

Volta, XL, and Silver followed behind him, onto the catwalk.

"Welcome back, guys!" XL greeted.

"Good to see you have all returned safe and sound!" Volta said.

"It’s great to be back! We had a little trouble with Zurg, but we got what we came for." Buzz said, feeling happy for his friends.

"You did find some stuff on the computer, right?" Mira asked Noelle.

Noelle nodded a little. "I managed to get a little data, but before I could get more, Zurg destroyed his computer."

"Oh, hey!" XR jumped out of Booster's arms. "I'll check that out!"

Noelle gave XR the data collector to him.

XR proceeded to pull out an adaptor from within his storage and plugged the storage device into. "Okay… Let's see… Accessing files… Data contains information on ¥ai†#∂ ø¨ˆ¨ˇ .”

Everyone looked down at him concerned, as grambled audio came from XR’s mouth.

“…And then ¬åˆ¥∫ ˚∆∫ßœ is ΩJ’ø¨†wait! Wait… Yeah… this data is corrupted."

Noelle facepalmed. "I knew it…"

"Ranger Starr, do you remember anything you saw on the computer?" Buzz asked.

"Criminals, Torque and Gravitina are either invited or joining Zurg. Plus, a lot of rich people are donating money to him," Noelle explained.

"Zurg wasn't bluffing… He really is planning something… dastardly…" Buzz said dramatically.

"But the question is _what?_ " Mira asked.

"Let me see the device, XR." Volta held out her hand to XR, and he gave it her. "I maybe able to unscramble some of the data," she began. "If not, I'm sure I can do some research from pieces left intact."

Noelle smiled. "That's a good idea! Either way we'll know what Zurg is up to!"

"I guess, all we can do now is wait for Volta to find something," Booster said as he looked down to Volta, who was starring blankly at the device in her fingers.

"Welp, now that I did my part and that XR is back on the team, I guess I’m no longer needed." Noelle said and began to walk off.

"Actually, hold that thought, ranger." Buzz said to her. "I want to talk to the Commander about your position in Star Command. I have never seen any ranger brave enough to face Zurg straight on, since my partners, here."

"Yes, sir!" Noelle saluted. Has destiny intervened again?

"In that case… since everyone's in an okay mood…" XR began as Silver landed on his shoulder. "How 'bout we all go out for dinner at Cosmo's? All on me!"

"Sure, okay!" Mira agreed.

"I’m in!" Booster grinned.

"I wouldn't mind," Volta smiled.

Silver squeaked in delight.

"How can I say no?" Buzz crossed his arms.

"Sure if you guys want me to come along." Noelle said shyly.

"It was implied that you join us." Buzz smiled and put a hand on her shoulder. "Alright guys, back onto the ship!"

"Hold it!" yelled XL.

Everyone turned to look down at him.

"Before anyone leaves, you've got paper work to do!" he reminded them, as he pulled some printed papers from his body.

"Oh yeah… that first," Buzz mumbled.

"That's okay!" Booster said. "Well, do it on the way there!" He suddenly picked up XL and tucked him under his arm.

"Whoa hey, put me down!" XL cried as the papers flew out of his clutches.

"To Cosmo's and beyond!" Buzz called.

Everyone ran back into the ship, laughing, as their day had ended on a positive note.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art used:  
> https://www.deviantart.com/xsweetslayerx/art/BLofSC-Star-Chronicles-Two-New-Characters-516102555


End file.
